Remembering Peter Pratt, 1940–2026

VANCOUVER: Peter Pratt was an architect, mentor, and advocate for West Coast Modernism. He served an esteemed, decades-long career as an architect in Vancouver and was part of a prominent family lineage with an immense and formative impact on the city’s design history – to the core of our modernist identity.

Earlier this summer, Peter passed away at the age of 86. The West Coast Modern League offers our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and all those who have taken inspiration from his work and mentorship.

Peter was born in 1940 to parents Charles Edward (Ned) and Catherine Gordon (Bunny) Pratt. In his youth, he attended the Shawnigan Lake School and grew up in a household surrounded by the cutting-edge of modern art, culture, and architecture on the West Coast. His father, Ned Pratt had just taken up a position with the venerable firm of Sharp & Thompson (1939) and was soon after named a partner along with Robert Berwick (1945). Ned was embarking on a transformative career that shaped many of Vancouver’s iconic mid-century buildings, the careers of numerous renowned Canadian architects, and the distinct place-based interpretation of modernism, dubbed West Coast Modernism. It was within this context that Peter Pratt chose a career in architecture.

Peter studied architecture at the University of British Columbia and worked as an architect following graduation. After far-reaching travels around the world, he spent much of his life working and raising a family in Vancouver while continuing to undertake projects internationally. In the 2010s, he embarked on a notable restoration and addition to the West Vancouver home he grew up in, the 1951 Pratt House. While upholding the showcase stature of the original house, Peter left his mark outlining a road map of sorts for the adaptation of these mid-century homes to contemporary living.

Built at a time of post-war optimism, when young families were aspiring to the ideals of modernism with an eye to practical and affordable design, Peter’s father set out to create a house that would embody the driving principles of West Coast Modernism (i.e. design for rainfall; maximize natural light; orient to views; use natural local materials; and employ an open floor plan) and act as a showcase of novel materials and building technologies. 60 years later, the low-slung, post-and-beam house, constructed of modest and inexpensive materials, was showing its age. With sensitivity and ingenuity, Peter simplified the floor plan, restored what could be salvaged, and replaced what was needed to bring the house back to its former splendour while offering a contemporary refinement. Furthermore, he built a modern addition as his own home exploring a distinct architectural language and employing contemporary materials and technology, incorporating steel, glulam, and concrete, while remaining complementary to the original house. “It’s a good handshake between father and son,” Peter remarked to Adele Weder in a 2012 The Globe and Mail article. The project went on to be featured in the 2012 documentary film Coast Modern among numerous other publications and exhibitions.

Peter Pratt
May 10, 1940 – July 20, 2026